At a dorm movie night, he might find sandwiches. At an open mic, it could be a few boxes of pizza.

Other Cornell students might see free food at campus events as a bonus. But for Samuel Issiah Williams, it is often dinner.

Mr. Williams, 22, is a Cornell senior majoring in information science. He arrived on campus this semester facing rising tuition costs, unexpected health insurance fees and thousands of dollars in loans. Rather than add to his mounting debt, he decided to forgo a meal plan — thousands of dollars for the year — and instead make do with canned goods and freebies around campus.

“This is what I have to do to save money,” he said last month at his parents’ home in Jamaica, Queens. “That’s how it’s going to be.”

Through Children’s Aid, one of the eight agencies supported by The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund, Mr. Williams got help for the fall semester, receiving $652.85 from the fund for meals and textbooks.

He hopes to stay steadily nourished until May, when he graduates and plans to get a job in web design.

Born in the tropical South American country of Guyana, Mr. Williams still has not quite gotten used to the snow on Cornell’s campus in Ithaca, N.Y. He grew up in Guyana’s capital, Georgetown, where mango, guava and cashew trees grew in his backyard. His parents made and sold hats from a vendor’s stand downtown, but they wanted better economic and educational opportunities for their five children.

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Mr. Williams at his family's home in Jamaica, Queens.CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

With his family, Mr. Williams immigrated to the United States in 2008 in the midst of the recession. Settling down in Brooklyn, they joined other family members in a two-bedroom apartment that now housed 13. Mr. Williams slept next to his cousin on a bottom bunk, while his two brothers shared the top.

“We slept fine,” he said. “It wasn’t something we thought about that much.”

Still, those early years in the United States were difficult for the Williams family. In their second Brooklyn apartment, they contended with difficult neighbors, and one night, Mr. Williams’s father was mugged and had to stay home for a week tending to his injuries.

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Mr. Williams skipped a yearlong Cornell meal plan, and instead eats canned foods and freebies around campus.CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

While his parents worked low-wage service jobs in the city, they instilled in their children a tireless academic work ethic. Mr. Williams became a standout student at Benjamin Banneker Academy, excelling particularly in math and English. He tutored math after school, earned scholarships to help pay for college and graduated on the honor roll.

Several prestigious colleges accepted him, but “I had to look at the financial aid package to determine if I would be able to go or not,” he said.

The initial package that Cornell offered in 2015 seemed like a dream come true: The university covered all first-year costs except for a student contribution fee. Tuition costs rose each year, though, and so did the contribution fees for Mr. Williams and his parents. A $350 student health fee, which caused an uproar on campus, was also put into effect.

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CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

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CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

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A recent study shows that hunger is a pervasive problem across college campuses, affecting millions of students.CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

And a policy change required over 2,000 students, including Mr. Williams, to spend about $2,800 on the school’s health insurance this year. His application for a waiver, relying on his mother’s insurance plan, was denied. (Cornell has changed the policy to allow more students to waive the school plan for the next calendar year.)

So Mr. Williams turned to loans and money from his parents to stay afloat. He also works at a laboratory on campus, where he cleans up after experiments — but he has little time to earn additional money, given the coursework for his five classes this semester.

After class, he cooks simple meals for himself. His favorite childhood foods — like Guyanese cook-up rice — are too challenging and expensive to make, so he often relies on pasta, canned beans and chicken tenders. He watches a GroupMe message channel on campus that points students to free food and shows up to those events. “I always find a way,” he said.

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Mr. Williams studies information science at Cornell.CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

Mr. Williams says that he does not often talk about his financial struggles with his classmates. But hunger is a pervasive problem across college campuses, affecting millions of students, according to a survey released this year by Temple University and the Wisconsin HOPE Lab. Of the 43,000 students at 66 colleges surveyed, 36 percent had trouble getting enough to eat on a daily basis.

For Mr. Williams, his student loans are a constant source of anxiety. “In the back of my mind, I’m always telling myself, ‘Once you graduate, all this money’s going to accumulate. You’re going to be in debt,’” he said.

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Mr. Williams is taking five classes this semester and working at a laboratory on campus.CreditChristopher Gregory for The New York Times

After graduation, Mr. Williams plans to earn an internship or job in front-end software or web design. He is interested in designing apps and also has aspirations to publish his poetry and short stories. His ultimate goal is to be his own boss, so that he does not have to rely on anyone except for himself.

“At some point in my life, I hope to be self-employed,” he said. “I can’t imagine myself working for someone else my entire life.”

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A20 of the New York edition with the headline: A Full Courseload at Cornell, Sometimes on an Empty Stomach. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe